Sepia-toned images of Newmarket’s iconic riverfront textile mills scroll slowly across the screen in a recent “New Hampshire Chronicle” report on local development and how a remarkable downtown renovation project has helped weave together past and present to revitalize the fabric of a community.
Visit the Local Development at Chinburg’s Newmarket Mills With ‘NH Chronicle’
The old-time photos, some depicting massive factory rooms jammed with workers and looms, appear alongside current scenes of the bustling mixed-use Newmarket Mills project developed by Chinburg Properties in cooperation with the town and the Newmarket Community Development Corp.
With its mix of beautiful apartments, commercial uses (a restaurant, bike shop, yoga studio and more) and a shared civic and cultural space, Newmarket Mills not only has injected new life into four impressive granite exterior mill buildings at 55 Main St., and 3, 5 and 7 Pentsock Way, the project has stimulated economic activity among its downtown neighbors.
“The mill has always been the heart of the community,” said John Herman, a Newmarket Community Development Corp. board member, during the “Chronicle” segment. “And now that the heart is, like, healthy, it’s just amazing to see what has happened.”
Newmarket Mills was even honored as Best Historic Redevelopment project by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance.
Jen Chinburg, marketing director for Chinburg Properties, said the Newmarket Mills development was an enormous undertaking given the condition of the buildings, which now house 112 apartments and more than 30 small businesses.
“One of the challenges in renovating the mills is being able to retain the original character of the property, but really transform them for current use,” by teaming up with the town in the development process, said Jen Chinburg.
“We went through an approval process with a lot of support from the town because they really wanted to see this become an economic engine again,” she said.
“The cherry on top,” said Chinburg, is Newmarket Millspace, a nonprofit “arts, civic and historic center for cultural activities in Newmarket” that is available for public gatherings and events.
The belching smokestacks depicted in the historic photos are long since dormant but, decades after the mills were shuttered, the project has helped pump new life into the local economy.
To view the complete segment, go here to check out the “New Hampshire Chronicle” report.
Local development and redeveloping some of New Hampshire’s abandoned mills has become a passion for developer Eric Chinburg, president of Chinburg Properties, and the whole Chinburg team of experienced development and construction professionals. They have spearheaded similar projects in Somersworth, Dover, Exeter, Laconia and Portsmouth, as well as Amesbury, Mass and Saco, Maine.
The team at Chinburg would love to hear from you. Call us today to find out more about Newmarket Mills and our other residential mill communities.
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